Amalie gripped Deke’s arm a bit tighter and smiled up at him. “I hope I don’t embarrass you. People are going to wonder who I am and where I came from.”
“That’s none of their business. All they need to know is that you’re my wife,” Deke insisted, but Amalie saw several young women giggling and pointing in their direction.
Before Deke and Amalie had the chance to leave the church grounds and head to the café for lunch, one of the young women came toward them. It was the same young woman that had approached them at the wagon the day before. Amalie remembered Deke explaining that she was his wife’s sister, Laura. “I can’t believe you would come to church and sit there, bold as brass in front of everyone,” she said. “I thought better of you, Deke Sperling.”
Deke glared at the young woman and said, “If you don’t have anything decent to say, Laura, I would suggest you go home before you cause more problems than you can handle.”
Laura tightened her hands into fists and rested them on her hips. “Is that a threat?”
“No one is threatening you, Laura,” Deke retorted. “I just think you should keep your thoughts to yourself before you hurt someone’s feelings.”
Deke turned to guide Amalie toward the café, and Nate followed them.
The young woman stamped her foot and called out to their retreating backs, “You’ve made bad decisions before, Deke, but this one is your worst.”
The Sperling family ate their lunch in peace and quiet. None of them seemed to wish to bring up the situation with Laura or the possible cause of her anger for Deke. The ride home was equally silent, with all three of them lost in thought.
Deke broke the silence as he pulled the wagon up to the rear of the house. “Nate will bring you a chicken. While it’s cooking, please come out to the barn. I think it’s time you met Honey,” Deke told Amalie.
Amalie bit her lip, hoping he would change his mind. She didn’t like horses, and they scared her. It didn’t matter if everyone living on a ranch needed to know how to ride; she didn’t want to learn. Amalie gathered all her courage and did her best to push her fears aside. “All right. I’ll come out to the barn a bit later.” She jumped from the wagon and hurried into the house before either Nate or Deke could say a word.
Nate looked at his brother. “She really is frightened of horses. You know that.”
“Yeah, but she needs to overcome that fear and learn to ride, even if she rides only Honey. The mare is gentle, and you need to set an example and get back on a horse, too. How can we teach her if you’re more afraid than she is?”
Nate stammered for an answer. He knew Deke was right, but he hadn’t been on a horse since his accident, and he felt as strongly about not riding as did Amalie. Rather than say this to Deke, he just nodded and walked off to find a plump chicken for supper.
~ * ~
Two hours later, Amalie lost the battle with herself to remain in the house and hide, and she pulled her shoulders back and headed for the barn.
Deke smiled when he saw her enter the barn. “Is the chicken cooking? I want you to get to know Honey, but I’m looking forward to that chicken and dumplings.”
Amalie returned the smile. “Yes, the chicken is cooking, and I have a little time to meet your horse.”
“She’s your horse,” Deke insisted.
Deke took Amalie by the hand and led her to a nearby stall to a beautiful, dark brown horse. It stood in the stall, its chest pushed against the stall door, trying to get closer to Deke.
Amalie took a step backward, and Deke tugged her hand gently to draw her closer to Honey. She cringed when Deke ran his hand down Honey’s head and neck.
“Don’t be afraid,” Deke assured. “She’s very gentle.”
“Uh-huh,” Amalie mumbled.
“If you’re afraid to touch her, let’s make friends with her first,” Deke said, and he pulled a carrot from a nearby basket. “You can feed this to her. She loves carrots.”
Amalie gripped the carrot as if she were terrified of dropping it, and Deke smiled. “No, you can’t hold it that way. She might accidentally bite you. Hold your hand out flat, palm up.”
Amalie did as she was told.
Deke put half of the carrot on Amalie’s palm and gently guided her hand toward Honey’s head, and the gentle horse pulled the carrot from Amalie’s hand.
Amalie exclaimed, “I didn’t even feel her take it.”
Deke laughed. “I told you she was gentle. Here, try the other half.”
Honey took the offered carrot as gently as she had the first piece, and Amalie blew out a tense breath. “I did it,” she said, smiling.
“That you did. Now, to make sure she’s your friend, you can give her a bit of sugar. Hold out your hand again.”
Amalie did as directed, and Deke shook a bit of sugar from a small jar onto her palm. She took a step closer to Honey, held out her hand, and the gentle horse licked the sugar happily. Amalie giggled. “That tickled.”
Deke laughed again. “It always does. Now, it’s time for you to get better acquainted. Just run your hand gently down her head and neck the way I did.”
Amalie nodded. She tried to still her shaking hand as she stroked the beautiful horse’s head and neck. When she stopped and pulled her hand away, Honey pushed her head against Amalie’s shoulder, and Amalie jumped back in surprise.
“She wants you to continue rubbing her head and neck. She likes you, and in a few days, you’ll be in that stall with her, brushing
